Nat King Cole

I’m an interpreter of stories. When I perform it’s like sitting down at my piano and telling fairy stories.

Oh, my darling, it’s incredible, that someone so unforgettable should think I am unforgettable, too.

Critics don’t buy records. They get ’em free.

The people who know nothing about music are the ones always talking about it.

For years the Trio did nothing but play for musicians and other hip people. We practically starved to death.

If I could read it, I could play it.

Jazz is like wine. When it is new it’s only for the experts, but when it gets older everybody wants it.

Everyone is working who should be.

I don’t try to please when I play. I try to cure.

I was unfashionable before anyone knew who I was.

When I decided that I wanted to be a Jazz musician, I knew that it was about improvising.

We’re more popular than Jesus Christ now. I don’t know which will go first; rock and roll or Christianity.

I try to teach by example and not force ideas on a young musician. We’re here to be part of a process of exchange.

The better it gets, the fewer of us know it.

It’s a matter of who would be right for each song. Mickey Hart for ‘All We Need is An Island’ – he’s the only guy I know who has Tahitian drums and every kind of drum on the planet.

The music field was the first to break down racial barriers, because in order to play together, you have to love the people you are playing with, and if you have any racial inhibitions, you wouldn’t be able to do that.

As soon as it was understood that we could handle things in our own way, it was the thrill of my life to walk out on that stage with people just hemming the band in.

Composing is a mindset, a part of who I am.

I like chords that are very lush with all the lush parts taken out.

I often wonder whether Negroes like myself who are pretty well known help out at all in breaking down barriers.

Only play what you hear. If you don’t hear anything, don’t play anything.